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Thursday, February 14, 2013

TO KAVA OR NOT TO KAVA

Kava trees as they grow.

The Tongan farmer looked at the visiting Paalangi. “This is kava. Kava is a royal crop, Brother. I have more than 200 acres of it
growing on my plantation. This is
how I shall provide an education for my children and for my grandchildren, from
the sale of kava. We make juice from the roots. Will you honor me by trying some?”

Squeezing the juice from kava roots.

The Paalangi looked long at the Tongan. “Brother Vai, I have never seen kava
before. But I have just had a
prompting from the Holy Ghost that kava is not good for the body. I shall not
drink any today. Still, I thank
you for your invitation, and your good will.”

Dried kava roots

The Paalangi left, and Brother Vai sat down to think. Then he stood, and thought some
more. And then he walked, and
thought some more. Much, much
later that night, he went to bed.

The next morning, Brother Vai called his plantation workers
together. "We will uproot
every kava tree on this plantation,” he said, stunning his workers. “I will not grow kava any more.”

The workers would not confront their employer, but later they complained among themselves. "He can't be serious!" said one. "The other plantation owners will say he's gone mad," said another. "What is he thinking? He will have no money, and we will have no jobs!" protested a third. Still, they obeyed their employer. He was firm; every kava tree had to go.

Many weeks later, the last of the kava trees was removed
from the ground. The workers
watched in amazement as every tree was chopped up for firewood, and the
valuable root systems burned. Now
that the job was finished, the plantation owner explained himself to his staff.

“I trust this Paalangi who came to our plantation. I know in my heart he is a man of God.
I know that he is inspired of God, and I trust his judgment based upon that
inspiration. He was the one who
told me that kava is not good for the body. I will not grow anything that is harmful to anyone’s body. I will apply in my life the principles
that I know are true; and one of those principles is to never harm another
person.”

The workers now understood why Brother Vai had chosen to
uproot his crops. But how would he
pay them? How would they manage a plantation
with no crops?

A banana grove.

Brother Vai started over. He had banana trees, and bananas would always sell. They would plant more banana
trees. Little by little, more
crops were added: mangoes, melons, pineapples, root crops – and sooner than any
of the workers had expected, the plantation was filled with beneficial
vegetables and fruits. And Brother
Vai never let any workers go – they managed together. The plantation thrived as never before; the weather seemed
to support every planting, every harvest, and the workers came to understand the
value of applying their faith in both word and deed.

This is what kava drink looks like. It used to be used only in ceremonies,but now is popularly used as a pastime.

I was told this story by the grandson of
Brother Vai, whose entire family uses this story to teach each other the
value of trusting in our leaders.
I don’t know who the Paalangi in the story was; it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Brother Vai
perceived the inspiration of a leader, and trusted enough in that inspiration
to take the drastic step of destroying his own crops and then replacing them,
without knowing for himself the reason.
(It is now common knowledge that kava is a mild hallucinogenic, is
addictive, and can cause severe liver damage.) Brother Vai , his children and grandchildren are strong,
contributing members of the Church here in Tonga, and provide leadership in
many wards and branches. It is our
pleasure to know and work with a few members of this family.